The age of the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is over. Electric cars are the future. The transition has just begun, but the move from ICE vehicles to Electric will happen sooner and more quickly than most people suspect.

So, China has spoken, and the car manufacturers have listened. In the next 18 months, expect the number of electric vehicle models available to purchase, to increase significantly.

2 Battery Costs are falling

The main cost of an electric vehicle is the cost of the battery. These price of these batteries is falling significantly.

Lithium-Ion Battery Trends 2010-2017Bloomberg

Lithium-Ion batteries cost $1,000 per kWh in 2010. By 2017 that cost had fallen to $200 per kWh, and it won’t stop there. At the Tesla shareholder meeting on June 5th of this year, Elon Musk stated that Tesla would be at $100 per kWh within 2 years. $100 per kWh is widely agreed to be the figure where EVs and ICE vehicles will have a comparable upfront purchase price.

So, by 2020 the cost of batteries will have fallen 90% in 10 years, and the price will continue to drop.

3 Battery capacity is increasing

Lithium-Ion batteries are increasing in energy density at a rate of 5-8% per annum. Mercedes has said that their fully electric Mercedes EQC, which will come to market in 2019, will have an expected range of 500km. While the Tesla Roadster, which launches in 2020, has a stated range of 1,000km. When Electric Vehicles have a range of 1,000km, it is the ICE vehicles which start to have a range problem.

Moreover, other battery technologies like solid-state batteries will come on stream giving us batteries that are cheaper, faster charging, and with even greater range still.

4 Electric car batteries have a very long life

Contrary to what many believe, the batteries in electric vehicles don’t degrade over time (or over miles/kilometers driven either).

Tesla Battery DegradationPhoto credit Matteo

This is a graph of the battery capacity of Tesla Model S/X vehicles, and it shows that after driving 270,000km (roughly 168,000 miles), the batteries still had 91% of their original capacity. There are more details in this article, but the bottom line is that the batteries lose about 1% of capacity every 30,000km (18,750 miles). This means that the upfront cost of an electric vehicle can be depreciated over a far longer time lowering the vehicle’s total cost of ownership significantly – EVs will just keep on working. Having said that, this data is specific to Tesla batteries – we will have to wait to see how other manufacturers fare.

5 Electric vehicles are more reliable

Another factor in favour of electric vehicles is that they are far more reliable. The drivetrain in an ICE vehicle contains 2,000+ moving parts typically, whereas the drivetrain in an EV contains around 20. A quick scan of the top 10 cars repairs of 2015 is telling. Only one of these faults can happen to an electric vehicle (number 4, and it is by far the cheapest to fix).

Top 10 Car Repairs 2015Photo credit Credit.com

6 Cheaper to Fuel

Electric vehicles are typically significantly cheaper to fuel as well (unless you happen to live somewhere that has particularly cheap petrol and extremely expensive electricity). And with the price of oil going up 50% in the last 12 months, finding somewhere with cheap petrol will become increasingly difficult.

1 Year Crude Oil PricePhoto credit InfoMine.com

7 Resale value of ICE vehicles –

Lastly, as outlined above:

the number of models of electric vehicles available for sale is about to increase enormously

the purchase price of electric vehicles is falling significantly

the range of electric vehicles about to match or even surpass ICE vehicles

the batteries in EVs last hundreds of thousands of miles/kilometers with absolutely minimal degradation;

and EVs are cheaper to fuel

So why would anyone consider buying a car with an Internal Combustion Engine? Most people won’t. And consequently, the resale value of ICE vehicles will collapse.

And if the resale value of ICE automobiles is going to collapse in 3-4 years, why would you buy one today? Think about that for a second. Why would you buy an Internal Combustion Engine vehicle today, if its resale value in 3-4 years will have fallen significantly? You wouldn’t. And when people start to realise that, the market will flip. And it will happen quickly. Sooner than most people think. Will your next car be an EV?

Finally –

And if none of that convinces you, maybe check out the rest of the specs for the Tesla Roadster – 0-100kmh (0-60mph) in 1.9 seconds, top speed of 400kmh (250mph), and range of 1,000km (620 miles).

One last thought, when electric vehicles start to become more common, drivers of internal combustion engine vehicles will be thought of the way smokers are regarded today. And, as fewer petrol (gas) stations will be needed, so they will either need to close down, or convert to electric fuelling stations. As they are shuttered, people with internal combustion engine vehicles will have to travel further and further to find a place to fill up. This inevitable vicious circle means it really is game over for the internal combustion engine.